Mary Heilmann’s red and black ceramic sculpture ‘Curl’ seems to defy its title with its angular panels, yet each segment dynamically spins around a central core like a step on a spiral staircase seen from above. Each tile evokes a riser with three treads or a chunky version of the Egyptian deity Isis’ throne in Constructivist colors that make a bold statement. (On view at Gladstone Gallery’s 24th Street Chelsea location through July 26th).
Music, 20th century design and the dingy tiles of New York’s Holland Tunnel have inspired New York-based painter Kevin Umana’s abstract canvases. Here, the artist nods to the award-winning film ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ in the color scheme of this small, energetic, and fractured painting. (On view in Chelsea at DC Moore Gallery through August 8th).
In Fredericks & Freiser Gallery’s group show homage to painter John Wesley’s erotically charged Pop aesthetic, Math Bass presents a painting from her ‘Newz!’ series in which pared down, ambiguous signs connect her paintings to Wesley’s. When a similar painting was installed as a mural in the lobby of the Hammer Museum last fall, the black shape could be read as a one-sleeved shirt. Here, a dog emerges to play with the pink ball and extended foot. (On view in Chelsea through July 26th).
Why paint? In 1975, Artforum magazine posited the question to artists at a moment when enthusiasm for more contemporary approaches – from conceptual art to video – seemed to have pushed painting out of the vanguard. Lisson Gallery’s summer group show visits responses then and now as painters pushed the boundaries of what could be considered painting. Here, Polly Apfelbaum’s synthetic velvet and dye piece ‘Blue Joni’ takes painting off the stretcher and even off of the wall. (On view in Chelsea through August 9th).
Tajh Rust’s portrait of a mom and her daughter embracing on the kitchen floor has a counterpart in a second family picture in which the mother meets our gaze while cradling her child’s head. The comparison reveals how easy it is to make eye contact with the child vs her assured mother as they occupy private space in a tender moment. Nevertheless, the girl’s eye becomes the focal point of the painting, highlighting the power of her keen observation. (On view in ‘Vernacular Interior’ at Hales Gallery in Chelsea through July 20th).
